The Leicester Mercury and the NSPCC are today launching a nationwide campaign to help Childline reach the young people that are hanging up or logging off before they can speak to them.

For more than 30 years Childline has been there for children and teenagers in need, some of whom are facing their darkest hours with nowhere else to turn.

However, due to rising demand for online, evening and night-time counselling the NSPCC service can now only respond to three in every four young people who need its help.

To close this gap the Leicester Mercury is calling on its readers to make a donation by sending a simple text, with just £4 covering the cost of a counsellor responding to a child in need.

Childline counsellor (Image: NSPCC)

175,000 phone calls and online chats from young people, some who are in desperate need of help, were lost to Childline last year due to increasing demand for online, evening and night-time counselling.

Childline, founded by Esther Rantzen over 30 years ago, needs your support so they can be there for the one in every four children and teenagers that are hanging up or logging off while being held in a queue.

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In particular the NSPCC supported service wants the capability to be able to respond to tens of thousands more young people who are contacting them via the website or on their phones during the peak hours of 4pm and 1am.

To do this requires employing extra staff to support volunteers and to be there when children and teenagers need them most - all of which comes at a cost of an extra £500,000 per year.

In response the Leicester Mercury is teaming up with the NSPCC to launch ‘Light Up Christmas for Children’ – a nationwide campaign to raise money for Childline and give all young people, no matter their circumstances, the chance of a brighter future.

A £4 donation could pay for a counsellor to answer a call, and all readers have to do to back the campaign is send a simple text message.

The need for Childline has never been greater, with an increasing numbers of children and teenagers contacting them about mental health concerns including many who are self-harming and even planning their own suicide.

John Cameron, who is Head of Helplines at the NSPCC, said:

“Childline is there for children and teenagers day and night. However, developments in technology have meant that young people are now communicating with us in very different ways which is placing the service under real pressure.

“In particular we are getting more calls later in the evening and many more contacts online, with these counselling sessions taking twice as long as those conducted over the phone.”

Last year almost 800,000 calls, chats and emails from young people were put through to Childline, with 625,000 of those getting to speak to a counsellor.

John Cameron added: “We are really excited that a great campaigning newspaper like the Leicester Mercury is backing our efforts to get to young people in need of our help more quickly.

“We would also urge children and teenagers to keep contacting us and to always try and wait until a counsellor becomes available.”

Childline is also making nationwide appeal for more volunteer counsellors, especially people who are willing to work in the evenings and overnight when many young people feel at their most vulnerable and are most in need of support and advice.

One Childline user, Melanie, explained what the service has done for her:

“Between the ages of 12 and 13, I phoned Childline regularly as I was being sexually abused by my godfather. I was just so glad to be finally sharing things with someone.

“Childline made me feel confident that it wasn’t my fault and helped me to realise that I didn’t have to feel ashamed. The counsellors I spoke to just let me talk and it was such a relief. The way they talked made me feel like they were genuinely there for me and like I was important.

“Talking to Childline lightened the burden of keeping such a big secret. I felt more in control and I was able to get the support I needed on my own terms.”

Moved by what you’ve read? Please help Childline be there for every young person who desperately needs support. Donate £4 by texting ‘NSPCC 4’ to 83010 or visiting nspcc.org.uk/leicester. Text costs include your donation of £4 plus your standard network rate. To donate £12 text ‘NSPCC 12’ and to donate £20 text ‘NSPCC 20’, also to 83010. The NSPCC will receive 100% of your donation.